Test gauge



c. c. FARMER Nov. 19, 1935.

TEST GAUGE Filed' Oct. 10, 1953 INVENTOR CLYDE C. FARMER' BY 9% WMATTORNEY Patented Nov. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TEST GAUGEApplication October 10, 1933, Serial No. 693,002

5 Claims.

This invention relates to a test gauge or device particularly adaptedfor use in connection with a triple valve device of the retarded releasetype.

The usual retarded release type of triple valve device comprises a slidevalve for controlling the brake cylinder exhaust passage and has a. fullrelease position in which communication through the brake cylinderexhaust passage is wide open, and a retarded release position in whichthe communication through said exhaust passage is restricted.

A piston is provided for moving the slide valve to the full release andretarded release positions upon an increase in brake pipe pressure. Amovable retarded release stop is slidably mounted in the triple valvecasing and is provided with a full release position which is defined byengagement with a shoulder in said casing. This stop has a stem which,when the stop is in full release position, acts to define the fullrelease position of the piston and slide valve, and a spring acts onsaid stop to oppose movement of said piston and slide valve to theretarded release position. Upon substantial equalization of pressures onthe triple valve piston, the spring acting on the retarded release stopis adapted to move said stop and thereby said piston and slide valvefrom the retarded release position to the full release position. Anextension is provided on the retarded release stop which is adapted toengage and move the slide valve from the retarded release position tothe full release position as the piston is thus moved by the stem on theretarded release stop, but this extension does not engage the slidevalve as it moves from the full to: the retarded release position, sinceit has been found that such engagement tends to tip or lift the slidevalve from its seat.

From the above description of the usual retarded release type of triplevalve device, it will be apparent that in order to obtain the properpositioning of the triple valve slide valve in the full release andretarded release positions, the dimensions of the retarded release stopmust not vary to any appreciable degree, but due to wear of the retardedrelease stop in service, the dimensions thereof will change and if thewear exceeds a certain amount, the triple valve device will not functionas intended. v

One object of my invention is to provide a sim ple gauge device by meansof which the condition of the retarded release stop of a triple valvedevice may be quickly and accurately determined.

There are a number of different retarded release triple valve devices,such-as the well knownK-J- and K2 triple valve devices for differentsizes of brake cylinders, and the K|-C and K-2C triple valve devicesalso for different sizes of brake cylinders. The designations K-I-C andK2-C indicate triple valve devices which have '5 been converted from atype preceding the Kl and K--2 type to devices which will function. likethe K| and K2. All of these triple valve devices have a retarded releasestop of substantially the same design but varying in dimensions. 10

Another object of my invention is to provide one gauge by means of whichthe condition of the retarded release stop of all the above mentionedtriple valve devices may be quickly and accurately determined. 15

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following moredetailed description of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing; Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of atriple valve device of the retarded release type with a portion of thecasing broken away to showdiagrammatically certain of the operatingparts; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig.3 is an isometric view of the retarded release stop employed 25 in thetriple valve device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an isometric View of myimproved test gauge; and Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of myimproved test gauge, with a portion broken away, and showing theretarded release stop of a triple 30 valve device mounted thereon.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the retarded release triple valvedevice is of the usual well known type comprising a casing l havingaxial bores in which are mounted the usual piston 35 bushing 2 and slidevalve bushing 3. A chamber 4 is formed within the piston bushing 2 and apiston 5 is slidably mounted in said chamber. A valve chamber 6 isformed within the valve bushing 3 and contains the usual main slidevalve 7 40 and graduating valve 8. The piston 5 is provided with a stem9 extending into the valve chamber 6. The stem 9 is provided at theouter end with the usual spider-like guide l0v which is adapted toslidably engage the valve bushing 3 within chamber 6 and which is alsoadapted to engage the right hand. end of the main slide valve 1 formoving same toward the left hand. A collar or shoulder II is providedadjacent the inner end of the piston stem 9 and is adapted to engage theleft hand end of the main slide valve 1 for moving said slide valvetoward the right hand. The graduating valve 8 is mounted within a recessin the piston stem 9 in the usual manner.

.The triple valve device is provided with the usual brake cylinderpassage 2 which leads to the brake cylinder (not shown) and the usualbrake cylinder release passage l3 which leads to the atmosphere. Theusual full release cavity i i and retarded release cavity l5, which isconnected to cavity l4 through a restricted passage it, are provided inthe main slide valve 1. In the full release position of the piston 5 andmain slide valve l, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. l, the'fullrelease cavity 14 is adaptedto connect the brake cylinder passage |2 tothe at mospheric exhaust passage [3 to provide a wide open communicationthrough which fluid under pressure is adapted to be released from thebrake cylinder (not shown). position of the piston 5 and slide valve 1,which position is defined by the engagement of a sealing bead ll on theback of piston 5 with the end of the valve bushing 3, as is well known,the retarded release cavity l5 in the slide valve i registers with theatmospheric exhaust passage 63 so that the release of fluid underpressure from the brake cylinder (not shown) occurs through the usualrestricted passage Hi.

The piston 5 is subject on the left hand side to the pressure in theusual brake pipe' (not shown) and on the right hand side to the pressurein the usual auxiliary reservoir (not shown) and is operated by anincrease in brake pipe pressure to move the slide valve 7 to either thefull release position or retarded release position, above described,according to the rate of increase in brake pipe pressure.

For determining which release position the slide valve 2 is moved toupon an increase in brake pipe pressure, the usual retarded releasedevice is provided which comprises a chambered member i3 secured to thecasing over the outer end of the valve bushing 3. A retarded releasestop consisting of a cylindrical guide I9 movable in the direction ofmovement of slide valve 1, is slidably mounted within the chamber inmember l8 and has at one end a shoulder 29 adapted to engage the end ofthe bushing 3. A spring 2| contained in the chamber in the member I8acts on the guide l9 to oppose movement thereof away from shoulder 29.The cylindrical guide I9 is provided with the usual stem 22 adapted toengage the spider !9 on the end of the piston stem 9, and an extension23 projecting from the guide 59 between adjacent legs of the spider H),as shown in Fig. 2, is adapted to engage the main slide valve l.

In operation, when the piston 5 is moved by an increase in brake pipepressure on the left hand side to the position in which the spider ID onthe end of the piston stem 9 just engages the stem 22 of the retardedrelease stop, but does not move said stop against the pressure of spring2|, the stem 22 defines the full release position of said piston andthereby of the main slide valve 1'. If the increase in brake pipepressure on piston 5 is such, however, as to overcome the opposingpressure of spring 2| acting on the retarded release stop, said pistonmoves the main slide valve 1 to the retarded release position defined byengagement of the sealing bead I! on the back of said piston with theend of the valve bushing 33. Upon substantial equalization of pressureson piston 5, after said piston is moved to retarded release position,the spring 2| urges the retarded release stop back to full releaseposition in which said stop engages the end of the bushing 3. In thismovement of the retarded release stop from theretarded to. the fullrelease In the retarded release position, the engagement of stem 22 ofthe retarded release stop with spider it! on the piston stem 9 and theengagement of the extension 23 of said stop with the end of the slidevalve 1 moves both said piston and slide valve from the retarded releaseto the full release position.

It will be noted that upon movement of the piston 5 and slide valve '5toward the right hand to the full and retarded release positions, thata. slight clearance space between the end of the slide valve 7 andextension 23 of the retarded release stop prevents engagement betweensaid slide valve and stop, since it has been found that during suchmovement, the engagement of the slide valve with said stem tends attimes to lift said slide valve 1 off of its seat. This clearance spaceis taken up however upon movement of the piston 5 and slide valve 1 fromthe retarded release position to the full release position, so that theengagement of the extension 23 with the slide valve 1 effects themovement thereof to the full release position.

From the above description of a retarded release triple valve device, itwill be evident, that if wear has changed the relation between theshoulder 2|), the end of the stem 22 and the end of the extension 23 ofthe retarded release stop to any appreciable degree, said stop will notfunction to properly define the full release position of the piston 5and slide valve 1, so that in operation, the triple valve device willfail to function as intended. According to my invention I provide asimple gauge by means of which the relation between the shoulder 29, theend of the stem 22 and the end of the extension 23 may be quickly andaccurately determined, so that if the above relation is unsatisfactory,the retarded release stop may be discarded.

My improved gauge comprises a base member 24 having on two oppositesides upstanding and parallel flanges 25 and 26, the inner corners ofwhich are preferably cut away to form arcuate surfaces 21 and 28,respectively, the common radius of said arcuate surfaces beingsubstantially the same as that of the guide i9 of the retarded releasestop so as to provide two parallel slides for said guide to be used inthe act of gauging, which will be hereinafter described.

A post 29 is provided at one end of the base member 24 and said post isprovided with a bore concentric with the arcuate-shaped surfaces 21 and28 and containing a gauge pin 33 of substantially the same diameter asthat of the stem 22 of the retarded release stop. The pin 39 is slidablymounted in the bore in post 29, and is provided on one side with a notch3|. A pin 32, carried by the post 29, extends through the notch 3|, toprevent the gauge pin 39 from falling out of said post, said notch beingof sufficient length to permit gauging operation of the pin 30, .as willhereinafter be described.

The post 29 is provided on opposite sides with two parallel gaugingsurfaces 33 and 34 which are arranged at right angles to the cylinderaxis of the arcuate-shaped surfaces 2'! and 28. length of the gauge pin30 is fixed with respect to the distance between the gauging surfaces 33and 34, and a portion of the outer end of said pin is cut away toprovide two stepped gauging surfaces 35 and 36.

The flange 25 at one side of the base member 24 is provided with athrough slot forming gauging surfaces 3'! and 38, while the flange 26 isprovided with a similar slot forming gauging surfaces 39 and 40, thesurface 31 being employed in The a gauging operation on the retardedreleasestop of the K-l triple valve device only, as indicated by thelegend Kl provided adjacent said surface on the flange. The surfaces 38,39 and 40 are employed for a similar gauging operation on the retardedrelease stop of the K-2, K-I-C and K2-C triple valve devices,respectively, as indicated by the legends adjacent the correspondingsurfaces. The legends K-IC and K-2C are shown on the inside of theflange 26 in the drawing, merely for the sake of clarity.

To gauge a retarded release stop such as shown in Fig. 3, said step ismounted on the gauge device with the cylindrical guide lQ engaging thearcuate-shaped surfaces 21 and 28 and with the extension 23 engaging thesurface 33 on the post 29. The gauge pin 3! is now pressed intoengagement with the stem 22 of the retarded release stop. If the surface3 1 on the gauge post is in line with either of the gauging surfaces 35or 35 on the gauge pin 36, or is between the gauging surfaces 35 and 35,this indicates that the relation of the stem 22 to the extension 23 issatisfactory. If, however, the gauging surface 35 on the gauge pin 3E3moves within the post 29, or the gauging surface 36 projects out of thepost beyond the gauging surface 3d, this indicates that the relationbetween the end of the stem 22 and that of the extension 23 isunsatisfactory, so that the retarded release stop should not be used. Itwill be evident that the position of the surfaces 35 and 3% on the endof the pin 30 with respect to the surface 34 on the post 29 may bedetermined either visually or by the sense of feel, that is, by placinga finger over the outer end of said pin.

Let it be assumed that the retarded release stop being gauged is thatemployed in a K-2 triple valve device. Now, with the extension 23 of theretarded release stop still engaging surface 33 on the post 23, theposition of shoulder 20 on the guide [9 with respect to the gaugingsurface 38 on the flange 25 of the gauge device is noted. If theshoulder 28 is in line with the gauging surface 38 or extends out pastsaid surface into the opening between gauging surfaces 3! and 38 itindicates that the relation between said shoulder and the end ofextension 23 is satisfactory, but if the shoulder 28 is hidden behindthe flange 25, then the above relation is unsatisfactory, so that thestop should not be used.

If, by means of applicants gauge device, the relation of both the stern22 and shoulder 26 of the retarded release stop is found to besatisfactory with respect to the extension 23, then the retarded releasestop will function in a triple valve device as intended, but if theserelations are found to be unsatisfactory, the retarded release stopshould be discarded.

If the retarded release stop being gauged is from a K-l triple valvedevice, then the gauging operation is the same as above described exceptthat the location of the shoulder 20 is gauged by the gauging surfaceill on the flange 25, and if said shoulder is in line with surface 3";or extends only into the space between surfaces 31 and 33, it indicatesthat the relation of the shoulder 26 to the extension 23 issatisfactory, but if said shoulder extends beyond surface 3? and isthereby hidden behind the flange 25, then said relation isunsatisfactory, and the stop should not be used.

The retarded release stop from a KIC triple valve device and that from aK-2-C triple valve device are gauged the same as those from the K-l andK-2 triple valve devices, ex-

cept that gauging surfaces 35 and 40 are employed, instead of gaugingsurfaces 3'! and 38 respectively.

It will now be evident that by the use of my simple checking or testinggauge, the condition of the various retarded release stops employed indifferent retarded release triple valve devices may be quickly andaccurately determined.

While one illustrative embodiment of the invention has been described indetail, it is not my intention to limit its scope to that embodiment orotherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A gauge device for checking the relative location of the shoulder,the end of the stem and the end of the extension of a retarded releasestop which define the full release position of a triple valve device,said gauge device comprising a base member having a slide for supportingsaid stop, a member fixer. to said base member and having a surface atright angles to a plane including the slide and adapted to be engaged byone of said ends for fixing said retarded release stop in a position tobe gauged, means slidably mounted in the fixed member and movable intoengagement with the other of said ends and cooperative with another andparallel surface on said fixed member for determining the relativeposition of the last mentioned end, and means fixed with respect to saidfixed member for ganging the relative position of said shoulder.

2. A gauge device for checking the relative location of the shoulder,the end of the stem and the end of the extension of a retarded releasestop which define the full release position of a triple valve device,said gauge device comprising a base member, a flange on each of twoopposite sides of said base member, the inner edge of both of saidflanges being broken away to form two parallel slides upon which saidretarded release stop is adapted to be slidably mounted, a memberprovided at one end of said base member and having a surface at rightangles to the plane of said slides and adapted to be engaged by the endof the extension of the retarded release stop for fixing said stop in aposition to be gauged, a pin slidably mounted in said member and adaptedto be moved into' engagement with the end of the stem of the retardedrelease stop when said stop is in the position to be gauged, meansassociated with position of said shoulder with respect to saidextension.

3. A gauge device for checking the relative location of the shoulder,the end of the stem and the end of the extension of a retarded releasestop which defines the full release position of a triple valve device,said gauge device comprising a base member, a flange on each of twoopposite sides of said base member, the inner edge of both of saidflanges being broken away to form two parallel slides upon which saidretarded release stop is adapted to be slidably mounted, a memberprovided at one end of said base member andhaving a surface at rightangles to the plane of said slides and adapted to be engaged by the endof the extension of the retarded release stop for fixing said stop in aposition to be gauged, and a pin slidably mounted in said member andhaving one end adapted to be moved into engagement with the end of thestem of the retarded release stop when said stop is in the position tobe gauged, the other end of said pin having a portion cut away to formtwo stepped gauging surfaces, said member having another and parallelsurface cooperative with said two stepped gauging surfaces for checkingthe location of said stem with respect to said extension, one of saidflanges being cut away to provide a surface for indicating the relativeposition of said shoulder.

4. A gauge device for checking the relative location of the shoulder,the end of the stem, and the end of the extension of the diiferentretarded release stops which define the full release position in varioustriple valve devices, said gauge device comprising a base member, aflange on each of two opposite sides of said base member, the inner edgeof both of said flanges being broken away to form parallel slides uponwhich said retarded release stops are adapted to be slidably mounted, amember provided at one end of said base member and having a surface atright angles to said slides and adapted to be engaged by the extensionof said stops for defining the position of said stops in which saidstops are adapted to be gauged, a pin slidably mounted in said memberand adapted to be moved into engagement with the stem of the retardedrelease stop when in the position to be gauged, means associated withsaid pin and cooperative with a surface on said member for indicatingthe position of said stem with respect to said extension, and meansassociated with said flanges and adapted, according to the retardedrelease stop being checked, to indicate the position of said shoulderwith respect to said extension.

5. A gauge device for checking the relative location of the threedifferent surfaces of a retarded release stop which define the fullrelease position of a triple valve device, said gauge device comprisinga base member upon which said retarded release stop is adapted to beslidably mounted, an element fixed with respect to said base member andhaving a surface with which one of the surfaces of said retarded releasestop is adapted to engage to define the gauging position of the retardedrelease stop on said base member, said base member having an opening forgauging the relative location of another of the surfaces of saidretarded release stop, and a pin movable relatively to and cooperativewith said element for gauging the relative location of the other of saidsurfaces.

CLYDE C. FARMER.

